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Chapter 217

I could only describe it as fast yet powerful. Despite its size being nearly double mine, the Night Stalker moved with such agility. I’ve never encountered anyone who could outfly me, yet here I was, struggling to keep up.

‘How can a nocturnal creature…!!’

It was midday, yet here was this owl, typically a creature of the night, bustling about so energetically.

Aside from my father, I hadn’t encountered any adult in aerial combat who could best me, but the Night Stalker was flitting about the sunlit skies without a care in the world.

It was infuriating. Had my father been here, the Night Stalker would likely have become a mere puddle of blood by now.

And I could already envision the cold, calculating gaze of Cheonglaegeom, bearing down on that pitiful sight.

Namgung Seong could easily imagine that scene. My beak hurt. I could feel the tension building, as if my beak might shatter at any moment.

The relationship between Namgung Seong and his father was far from bad.

Some families in the martial world had strained relations between parents and children, but though he maintained a sense of respect, he did not neglect his responsibilities as a father.

Yet the feeling of powerlessness upon realizing one’s own weakness did not change, whether the relationship was that of father-son, friends, or facing an overwhelmingly powerful opponent.

Namgung Seong despised the thought of imagining himself as someone lesser. He had a desire for the name Namgung Seong to remain a symbol of absolute trust for someone.

“…So I’m losing to a creature like this?”

Crackle, crackle.

In response to that rage, brilliant lightning began to swirl around Namgung Seong.

The Celestial Thunder King Technique, shortened to the Celestial Thunder Technique, unleashed the sharp claws of the Namgung clan’s martial arts.

This was precisely one of the reasons why the Celestial Thunder Technique ranked among the top ten techniques of this vast world.

As feelings swelled, the uncontrollable mana occasionally turned against its own master.

However, Namgung Seong had never once been harmed by the lightning he emitted since his earliest childhood. It was as if his own internal energy possessed a will of its own.

The Night Stalker recoiled slightly, moving back cautiously, as if it had felt the lightning erupting from Namgung Seong’s body.

Had it gotten too close to him, its nonchalant attitude from earlier had vanished, replaced with a distinct vigilance.

“Hmm….”

Namgung Seong breathed slowly, relaxing his body. He knew well that he couldn’t win without remaining calm.

In the battle among the skies, the defeated would merely become food for their opponents.

He could not allow himself to lose while bearing the name of the Namgung clan.

In mid-air, Namgung Seong assumed his stance. Gripping the sword in both hands, he held it diagonally and crouched down—a signature pose of the Cangong Wuai Sword style.

The first technique of the Cangong Wuai Sword was meant to execute a vertical leap into the sky.

Using it while already airborne felt a bit awkward, but he had no thought of being unable to soar higher.

If he was already in the sky, he would strive to go even higher—higher, even beyond the clouds, aiming to elevate himself to where even the sun shone down, just like their legendary progenitor, the Divine Falcon.

‘…Come at me.’

Watching him quietly, the Night Stalker was the first to move. In aerial combat, there were no movements without premonition.

The sound of feathers cutting through the wind echoed. Namgung Seong instinctively shifted his body.

The widespread lightning surrounding him functioned like a barrier.

With a purity that appeared almost blue, his elemental mana brushed against the Night Stalker’s feathers, its rigid beak, sharp claws, and fed him vital information about the enemy in front of him.

He could construct an understanding of the adversary’s state even with his eyes closed. The martial artist’s sixth sense was ringing alarm bells.

Like a hawk snatching up a mouse—wings spread wide, he prepared to strike towards the Night Stalker’s legs.

Knowing the power that came from weight, speed, and sharpness, he could easily visualize what state he would be in if he took things lightly.

Namgung Seong was in no rush. The first technique of the Cangong Wuai Sword, the Cangong Wuai Sword’s fundamental technique that pierced through the center.

Even now, countless warriors of the Namgung clan were practicing it, and it would frequently be utilized somewhere.

Namgung Seong had loved the technique of the soaring hawk since childhood, when his newly grown feathers were still fluffy.

He had been told that he would be slower to soar into the sky due to his disproportionately large wings, causing him to lag behind other children.

While others ascended towards the heavens executing the soaring hawk, he practiced from the ground, unable to follow them.

He longed to fly. Oh, how deeply he wished to. That yearning was the fuel that drove him to repeat the same technique over and over—hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of times.

From the moment the sun rose to when the moon set, until his hands blistered and not a feather remained.

Thus, even today, the technique he felt most confident in was the soaring hawk. Especially since he had nearly been defeated by Choi Yeon-woo’s downward slash.

With a practiced motion, he folded his extended arm, shifting it to his waist. Simultaneously, he twisted his body, momentarily folding his wings and tilting his body in mid-air.

Leaning back towards the sky, as Namgung Seong raised his sword, it collided with the Night Stalker’s claws, producing a sharp metallic sound.

Clang, clang, clang!!

He felt his body drop downwards. In mid-air battles, there was no support. Even if he exerted force in his legs, that wouldn’t enhance his rebound.

Once he began to fall, he had no choice but to plunge endlessly until he reached the ground.

“Ugh…!!”

Yet there was a reason to fold his wings. Gritting his teeth, he exerted strength on the hilt. The sword and the claws were evenly matched in balance, but Namgung Seong’s body could not claim the same.

He could not understand why he had to fold his wings, but the Night Stalker lunged ahead as if bent on smashing him down to the ground.

‘Yes, that will do.’

Knowing exactly what the Night Stalker was thinking, Namgung Seong folded his wings.

As mentioned, the Night Stalker was a nocturnal creature. Countless encounters had led him to realize that it always attacked while facing away from the sunlight. That sunlight had put him in jeopardy countless times.

He had tried to fight for the vantage point that faced away from the sun to gain some benefit, but each time he had been pushed back.

But that wasn’t strategy; it was instinct. The Night Stalker’s behavior, guided by the instinct of being a night creature, merely favored the sunlight.

Yet now, what about now? The Night Stalker seemed to prioritize its hunter’s instincts over its nocturnal nature.

In an attempt to capture its prey completely by throwing it to the ground, it now revealed its inherent tendency to try and slam Namgung Seong into the earth.

“You see, that’s why you little birds don’t measure up.”

With that casual remark, Namgung Seong smirked widely.

Those words might come off as a curse against the entire clan, but who cares if no one heard? After all, the owl monster right in front of him was definitely not capable of understanding his words.

『Hoo-oo──!?』

Then, a sudden twist of fate occurred. The Night Stalker’s body, which was so intent on crashing Namgung Seong to the ground, began to wobble. It wailed in pain, shaking its head violently as it could not muster the strength to open its yellow eyes.

The cause lay beneath. A shimmering, mirror-like sheet of ice. The sunlight reflected off the ice, striking the Night Stalker’s eyes head-on, and Namgung Seong seized that moment.

Whoosh!! With a sound like rushing wind, wings that could rival the Night Stalker unfurled. The previously fierce acceleration of the fall smoothly decelerated.

A support had emerged to take the place of the ground. The pale white sleeve around Namgung Seong’s arm bulged, akin to a ball being struck away.

With a forceful swing of his sword, he sent it slicing through the heavens.

Even with its sight impaired, the Night Stalker was no easy target.

In an instant, it released its claws from the sword and, with unseen eyes, adjusted its stance mid-air, launching itself at Namgung Seong with its sharp beak ready to pierce him.

“Oh, so you want to give it a shot?”

But that high-ranking monster—an owl living in the dark of night—was clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed.

If a hawk rises to the sky, then what actions it should take next are quite self-evident.

Namgung Seong smiled, bearing a confident grin as he readied himself. At this very moment, he felt freer than anyone else. He could stretch out, thinking he could soar as far and high as he wished, seamlessly connecting techniques from the soaring hawk.

The second technique of Cangong Wuai Sword, Yeojo Gwamo (Like a Bird Passing).

A gripping hold along the sword’s blade followed the flow of azure lightning.

A strike so swift it could scarcely be seen, truly like lightning, accurately pierced through the center of the Night Stalker, as if it were a bolt from clear skies.

*

…Rum rum….

Baek In-hwa suddenly looked up at the sky. It sounded as if thunder was rumbling. Yet the sky, visible through the leaves, was bright and clear, with no sign of storm clouds or rain.

‘It must be Namgung Seong.’

Though they’d say it strikes out of nowhere, if it wasn’t really a thunderstrike out of the blue, then it must be him. As she thought that, Baek In-hwa directed her gaze downward.

A massive worm squirmed on the ice beneath. A Grand Serpent, a high-ranking monster with that impressive title, was the creature she now faced.

A mutant of the Forest Worm species. Aside from it being the same as the Death Worm in color and habitat, its head bulged out into a triangle shape.

It almost appeared to be influenced by the nearby Earth Serpent, beginning to take on a serpentine form. Hence the nickname Grand Serpent. Yet, at its core, it remained a mere worm.

‘…But I wonder if a worm can even think.’

Thoughts like that drifted through Baek In-hwa’s mind.

In this operation, she could only be the most composed among them. Especially since she had prevented it from burrowing below ground.

The Grand Serpent she knew… the grotesque mutant Forest Worm squirming right before her was noted for its rapid surprise attacks from underground.

However, the moment Baek In-hwa activated her Ice Shield technique, all those concerns became irrelevant. Still, it would maintain some degree of capability to be deemed a high-ranking monster.

Baek In-hwa decided to test the waters and lightly gathered her cold energy to fire it at the Grand Serpent.

Sharp shards of ice clawed at its surprisingly soft body. The filthy green bodily fluid burst out, making the Grand Serpent writhe in pain.

That was one of the greatest weaknesses of Forest Worms. Its durability was embarrassingly low.

Although their acidic bodily fluids posed a hassle to melee hunters, Baek In-hwa was perfectly capable of long-range combat, making her an absolute counter.

“…Sigh.”

But the expression on Baek In-hwa’s face was less than bright as she observed the Grand Serpent. Was it because it was grotesque? No, that wasn’t it.

Every second… no, every moment, she could see its wounds visibly healing.

Being a high-ranking monster wasn’t without its perks; it seemed to have learned to move even on the ice.

Of course, this didn’t mean that Baek In-hwa’s absolute advantage was compromised. It merely meant that—

“This will take a while….”

Creatures like this could break free even after being completely frozen, so it was just a hassle as Baek In-hwa adjusted her Ice Shield technique firmly around her fingertips.

It appeared the hunt would be a tedious one.

*

Crack, boom!!

An annoying, thunderous noise erupted beside her, reminiscent of a siege battle. It was the sound of the Elder Tree’s fist smashing the ground, and Kim Yoo-min landing punches on that Elder Tree.

Next to such a powerful and exhilarating battle, Yeon-woo realized she had been standing still for nearly ten minutes.

It felt unbearable. Yeon-woo didn’t particularly prefer this type of battle, where she was flung about like a cannonball, but neither did she like such stasis in combat.

However, participating in this fight made her wish for the loud, chaotic battles to come in the future.

Ja-young was incredibly, incredibly cautious.

Aside from slowly pacing around Yeon-woo, her graceful movements hardly showcased any other actions.

While wanting to poke through, she maintained a slightly distant ideal space, making it feel vaguely far away.

Of course, Ja-young’s careful demeanor likely stemmed from the wound on her side.

It could be viewed as something akin to Yeon-woo’s own doing.

Creating a wound that hindered movement was fine, but she never imagined that it would evolve into something where Ja-young wouldn’t freely attack more than once every five minutes.

“I’ll support you, Sis!!”

“You’re the best, Shar!! Will you stay by my side forever and fight with me!?”

“Let me think about it!”

‘Oh, what a racket.’

It was difficult to tell whether we were in the midst of a life-or-death struggle or a festival of fireworks, as the thunderous sounds mixed with the excited voices of her companions made Yeon-woo grimace.

Simultaneously, Yeon-woo had to duck sideways. Whoosh!! Ja-young’s nails, launched like an arrow, grazed past her cheek. She felt a tug on her skin, leaving a long yet shallow scar on her face.

Barely avoiding the surprise attack instinctively, Yeon-woo shouted instead of rushing in with her sword.

“Hey, quit the noise!! Can we fight quietly!?”

In an environment where she simply couldn’t focus, she yelled, but it seemed her shout was lost in the booming sound of the Elder Tree smashing the ground. Damn it.

After all that, she couldn’t even enjoy her hard-fought opportunity, as Ja-young once again eyed Yeon-woo from the same distance as before.

‘This is infuriating.’

Honestly speaking, Yeon-woo felt more vexed by Kim Yoo-min, who was bouncing around excitedly like a demon, than by the composed Ja-young. Not that she was cursing anyone. Certainly not.

If she could, she would block her ears to the chaos and fight with peace of mind, but doing so would only hinder her battle with Ja-young, so—

‘Oh, it really boils down to how I feel! I think I’m finally beginning to understand some of the teachings of Master Wonhyo….’

With that thought, she could do nothing but calm her mind. It wasn’t about dreams but interpretations, and with enough resilience, one could surely overcome it.

(Continued in the next installment)

 

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